Bela Karolyi, Controversial Gymnastics Coach Who Mentored Olympic Gold Medalists Including Mary Lou Retton, Dies at 82

Bela Karolyi, the legendary gymnastics coach who coached stars including Mary Lou Retton and Nadia Comaneci to victory at multiple Olympic games, has died. He was 82.

USA Gymnastics confirmed in a statement on Saturday, Nov. 16, that Bela — who coached alongside his wife, Martha Karolyi — had died. A cause of death was not given.

Comaneci, 63, also confirmed the news to USA Today, telling the outlet that the late coach had “changed my life forever.”

“Almost 50 years ago, he guided me to the historic performance of the First Perfect 10 in the Olympics … and that changed my life forever,” Comaneci said of Bela, adding that he died on Friday, Nov. 15.

In an Instagram post, Comaneci — who was 14 when she and Bella took home a gold medal for team Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics — also shared a black-and-white photo of herself as a child with Bella, writing in the caption: “A big impact and influence on my life.”

Similarly, Bella coached a 16-year-old Retton to victory at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and had a memorable moment at the 1996 Atlanta games when he was photographed helping Kerri Strug off the floor after an injury.

Before defecting from Romania in 1981, Bella and his wife, 82, coached stars such as Comaneci. However, after they came under pressure from the Romanian government to promote “the power of the communist system” at their gym, as Bela told Time in 2012, the couple fled to the U.S. and were given asylum.

The Karolyis opened a clinic in Texas, and they eventually overhauled the U.S. approach to the sport of gymnastics, successfully taking over command of the national team nearly 16 years ago. Bela even briefly became the national team coordinator for the USA Gymnastics women’s program in 1999, per the Associated Press, and implemented a system that put Team USA on the map.

By 1997, Bella had been inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame and in 2000, he and Martha were together inducted into USA Gymnastics’ Hall of Fame as a coaching team.

However, Bella’s storied career was not without controversy. He and Martha were mired in scandal after it was revealed that Dr. Larry Nassar abused girls at their Texas training facility. When allegations against Nassar went public in 2016, the pair were accused of ignoring the abuse that occurred at their 200-acre ranch in Huntsville, Texas.

Former gymnast Jeanette Antolin claimed the Karolyis knew Nassar was abusing her inside her cabin, and the allegations later led to a lawsuit by the couple, who maintained they were never told Nassar’s abuse was sexual in nature.

More than 250 women and girls have accused Nassar of assault, including Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas.

An attorney for the Karolyis denied any allegations made against the couple in 2017, saying in a statement to PEOPLE: “The Karolyis did not have any knowledge of any complaint from anyone concerning any athlete’s alleged mistreatment by Dr. Nassar until they learned of his dismissal from USA Gymnastics during the summer of 2015.”

Per AP, the couple was also accused of creating a toxic and abusive culture for the young gymnasts they coached during their years helming the Team USA training program — although some of their staunchest defenders were their most successful students and mentees.

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Dominique Moceanu, who became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in U.S. gymnastics history at age 14 under Bella’s leadership, shared a lengthy statement reflecting on his life and legacy in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Nov. 16.

“Bela Karolyi was a man whose influence on my life and the sport of elite gymnastics is undeniably significant,” she wrote. “He was a complex individual, embodying a mix of strengths and flaws that left a lasting impact on those around him.”

“Anyone who has followed my story knows that my journey under Bela’s guidance as my coach came with immense challenges,” she continued. “His harsh words and critical demeanor often weighed heavily on me. While our relationship was fraught with difficulty, some of these moments of hardship helped me forge and define my own path.”

“As we bid farewell to Bela, I choose to send loving thoughts to his family and loved ones, and honor our relationship by embracing lessons learned and striving to help create a world where compassion and encouragement guide our actions,” Moceanu continued. “May he rest in peace.”